


Time Spent with a Cat is Never Wasted

by musicalfreak86



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Holtz owns a cat, Slow Burn, but apparently that happened, i didn't expect it to become slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-08-29 11:45:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8488081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicalfreak86/pseuds/musicalfreak86
Summary: Erin finds herself in an awkward situation involving a cat and her underwear and runs into Holtzmann, who has just moved in down the street and owns said cat.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this was inspired by the prompt “My cat steals underwear and I come home to find you chasing my cat to get your underwear back.”
> 
> From this post on Tumblr: http://ma-ghostly-petite.tumblr.com/post/146424416379/awkward-first-meetings-aus
> 
> It kind of ran away from me and became a full length story. Also, my cat actually does steal not only underwear, but bras and socks as well. Just for those skeptics out there. ;)
> 
> I don't own Ghostbusters and any mistakes are my own.

Erin Gilbert had never really been that great at going on dates. As hard as she tried and as well as the dates seemed to go at the time, somehow they never extended past a first. Even the few relationships she’d had were short, the longest in a while being a few months with a man who finally told her that it simply “wasn’t working out.” Erin would have bought the excuse, especially since she had been feeling the same way, if she had not seen him sharing a steamy kiss with an acquaintance of hers at a university event just a few hours later. An acquaintance who had told her all about the man she had been seeing for the past few weeks. Erin felt stupid when she realized that she and her coworker had been seeing the same man. She had left the event early and cried alone in the shower that night.

Ever since this incident her best friend Abby had been trying to set her up. Erin hated being set up on dates and told her friend just that but Abby wasn’t hearing it. Every time Erin complained about her lamentable love life Abby started in again until Erin finally stopped saying anything to her friend on the topic. This, of course, didn’t stop Abby from trying. They had been best friends since high school when being the two weirdos who researched ghosts had bonded them. They had even gone through a short period of toying with the idea of dating one another before deciding that they worked much better as friends. Erin had been terrified of losing Abby’s friendship and Abby had realized that while she could stand Erin’s buttoned down tendencies in a friendship, as a girlfriend they drove her absolutely insane. They had mutually agreed to remain friends, and while Abby had gone on to embrace her growing and changing sexuality Erin had remained determinedly “straight,” Abby being the only person in her life who knew about her repressed bisexuality.

On afternoons Erin didn’t have to work office hours at Columbia University they would meet in Abby’s basement lab at the Kenneth T. Higgins Institute of Science to work on their research. Erin had left their history of ghost hunting behind for several lonely years following an anxiety riddled argument over Erin’s public image and the possibility of her getting tenure in the future. Eventually Erin had realized that she had made a terrible mistake and reached out to Abby who had been more than happy to mend things between them. The years of friendship they had shared didn’t die easily and they had settled comfortably into their old routine, Abby only sometimes making references to Erin’s ditching her right before a talk show interview about the book they had written. Erin still felt terrible about the incident but tried hard to make up for it by supporting Abby and their work fully. She acknowledged that she would probably never be granted tenure while working on projects like this but couldn’t really find it within herself to care. She had changed a lot since she and Abby had come back together.

But not enough to allow her friend to set her up on a blind date.

“Erin, you really need to get laid,” Abby offered helpfully to her friend who was slumped over her desk, her head in her hands. She had just gone on a tirade about midterms and how they were more stressful on the teachers than on the students and how none of her students really cared and how they all hated her and she was just feeling so tense. Abby moved behind her chair and began rubbing her shoulders and Erin blushed horribly at the involuntary groan that left her at the contact. While she wouldn’t have put it quite as crudely as Abby had, she silently agreed with her friend. It had been a while.

Abby, on the other hand, took her groan as agreement and launched right back into her usual campaign for Erin to allow her to set her up on a date. “Look, I met this engineer at a conference a few weeks ago. Imagine if you dated an engineer! Imagine if we had an engineer on our team! Think of what we could accomplish Erin.”

Erin peered up at her through her bangs, refusing to lift her head from the desk and allow Abby to realize that she was actually considering the offer. Just a little. “You know, I know a little about engineering myself…” she said, trailing off at the other woman’s expression. The last time Erin had tried to actually accomplish something in that particular branch of science they had almost been kicked out of the Institute for the minor explosion that had nearly taken out half of their lab. Erin had had to chop off several inches of hair to get rid of the singed parts and Abby had spent weeks without eyebrows. “Fine, fine, I won’t try to build anything. But you want to set me up just so we can have an engineer on our team? Abby, really?” she groaned again, the sound much less pleasure-filled this time. “Besides, what if I start to date this guy, it goes horribly wrong, and then we’re left in an awkward situation?”

Abby smirked. “Look, just give this a shot. You’ve been going about this dating thing entirely the wrong way and I’m going to fix that for you, okay? Trust me, this will be different. And you need something different.”

“Another time Abby?” Erin said, her voice pained. “I have a date tonight and if it goes badly I’ll consider taking you up on your offer.”

“That’s not a no!” Abby hooted triumphantly and retreated to her own desk, leaving Erin in peace for the time being.

*****

Erin had never been great at going on dates. In fact, Erin was notoriously terrible at going on dates. So terrible in fact, that she had avoided them since her last miserable break up. Dates made her anxious to the point of almost making herself sick, and she was not above using that as an excuse to get out of ones that she had a particularly bad feeling about. Abby, on the other hand, loved when Erin went out on dates, even if Erin hadn’t allowed her to pick out the date herself. While Abby was excited, Erin found her anxiety increasing as the day wore on. It reached a peak when Abby told her to go home early and get ready for her date and to wear something fun for goodness sake, not the stuffy librarian suits that she normally wore. Erin flushed scarlet when Abby suggested that the librarian suits could be fetish fuel and vowed to wear something a little more of this century.

When she returned home she decided that a shower was in order before any dressing up could happen. With midterm week coming to a close Erin was pretty sure that she was sporting some unpleasant stress sweat that she wanted to wash away before meeting her date. Plus Abby had brought some kind of noxious chemical into the lab that she was carefully experimenting with and the smell had seeped into both of their clothes. Erin could still smell it on her skin and although she had met her date in the STEM program at Colombia she doubted that the smell was attractive in the slightest. Almost as an afterthought she threw the window to her bedroom open in the hopes that some fresh air would help the smell dissipate.

She walked over to her closet and began rifling through her selection even though she knew what she was going to choose. Someone had once told her practically in the same breath that a little black dress was too much for a first date and that she looked good in green. She had gone out the same week and bought a dark green dress that fell to mid-thigh and showed off just enough cleavage to catch someone’s interest but not enough to be considered un-Erin. Paired with a thin black sweater and black low-heeled pumps she thought it actually looked pretty classy. She also appreciated that the dress had pockets that she had the back habit of putting her hands in when she was particularly nervous, and was supportive enough that she didn’t need to wear a bra. She wore the dress for every first date she had been on since buying it, which hadn’t been that many, and although the dates almost never worked out she secretly considered it her lucky dress.

Erin lay the dress on her bed and before she could think too long and get nervous pulled a pair of black lace underwear from her drawer and laid it on top. It’s ok, she told herself, wringing her hands anxiously. If you do happen to get lucky tonight you’ll be glad you wore them. And if not, no one’s the wiser. She knew it would take an act of God for her to feel comfortable or confident enough to take things that far on a first date, but she left the scrap of fabric out anyway. Taking a deep breath she walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaving the date outfit lying on the bed for when she got out of the shower.

*****

Erin allowed herself an extra long shower to help calm her nerves, and she had to admit that she did indeed feel a little better when she emerged, steam drifting into her bedroom as she toweled off her hair. She would need to find her hair dryer eventually. It was probably under her bed or somewhere else just as obscure since she hardly ever used it anymore. She turned to her bed and was preparing to kneel down to check underneath it when she noticed something strange. Her underwear was gone.

“What the…” she muttered, picking the dress up and checking underneath it before pulling the blankets off her bed entirely and shaking them to see if the garment had somehow gotten tangled in them. When it didn’t reveal itself she walked in a full arc around the foot of her bed. The underwear was nowhere to be found. Erin felt goosebumps erupt on her skin at the idea that someone had come in and stolen her underwear before brushing off the feeling with an uneasy chuckle. Who would come into her bedroom and steal her underwear without even touching anything else? She had a laptop and jewelry to steal as well but nothing else appeared disturbed. Surely she must have put the scrap of fabric somewhere else or taken it into the bathroom with her and forgotten.

She was about to turn around and walk back to the bathroom to check there when she heard a strange noise. Looking up she realized that there was a cat sitting in the open window of her bedroom. How on earth had she missed that before? It was sitting there licking its paw and underneath it was her underwear.

Erin felt her jaw drop as she looked at the cat innocently sitting there on her underwear. She didn’t have much experience with animals, having never owned anything more complicated than a goldfish in her entire life, but she had never heard of a cat stealing clothing before. She approached the cat cautiously, clearing her throat.

“Hey there kitty,” she said, extending a hand slowly. “Here, kitty kitty.” The cat looked up from washing its paw but paid her no mind. Instead it started attacking the lacy material, catching it with its claws and chewing on it ferociously. “No kitty don’t do that!” Erin made a grab for the garment but the cat hissed and picked it up in its teeth before jumping out the window and onto the sidewalk below.

Erin found herself frozen in a state of mild shock. She didn’t know cats very well but she had never heard of a cat doing that. What she did know was that cats move fast and that if she had any hope of getting her underwear back she would have to act quickly. Pulling her towel tighter around herself she climbed bodily out the window without a second thought.

The cat had already darted several feet down the sidewalk and was sitting there licking itself again, her underwear sitting right there in the open where anyone could see. Never mind the fact that she was standing out on the sidewalk wearing nothing but a towel.

“Come here kitty,” she said through gritted teeth, tiptoeing toward the creature and wincing at the feel of the rough sidewalk against her bare feet. She had never been a child who played outside much, mostly preferring sitting inside with a good book, and when she did play outside she certainly didn’t do it barefooted. But here she was, chasing a damned cat down the sidewalk to retrieve her underwear. Underwear she saved specifically for dates she had a good feeling about at that. She certainly wouldn’t be wearing them tonight. Not after they had been dragged through the dirt in a cat’s mouth.

As soon as she got within two feet of the cat it picked up her underwear and trotted off down the sidewalk once more, tail in the air to show her its impertinent little backside. They continued in this fashion for several more minutes, Erin coming within feet of the cat and the cat waiting until she was close enough to grab it before taking off again, until Erin very literally bumped into another person. She had been so focused on the cat that she hadn’t even noticed the person standing in the path. She bounced off of them, nearly landing flat on her ass but recovering at the last moment. She looked up to meet the stranger’s stunning blue eyes that were partially hidden behind yellow tinted glasses perched low on her nose. The woman was carrying several brown grocery bags and didn’t seem fazed in the slightest by the unexpected sight of Erin clad only in a towel chasing a cat down the street.

“I’m so sorry,” Erin stuttered out, feeling her face and chest flush bright red in embarrassment at the situation she had found herself in. “I can explain,” she trailed off, realizing that she couldn’t, in fact, explain. Lucky for her, however, the cat approached the woman and began rubbing against her legs, Erin’s underwear still in its mouth.

“Schrödinger!” the woman said, somehow managing to balance her grocery bags and scoop the cat up at the same time. “Did you steal this lovely lady’s underwear? I thought we talked about this.” She carefully extracted the garment from the cat’s mouth and handed it back to Erin, who took it with mild disgust. The woman awkwardly extended a hand past the cat and grocery bags and Erin grasped it cautiously.

“I’m Holtzmann,” she said, giving Erin’s hand a surprisingly firm shake. “He does this to everyone. He even steals my bras.” She grinned and Erin found that she enjoyed the low tones of her voice. “I just moved in down the street. Are we neighbors?” She gestured with her head to the apartment complex at the end of the block and her glasses bounced on her nose.

“Ah, sort of,” Erin replied, clutching her towel. “I’m Erin. I live down the street in that direction. Welcome to the neighborhood?”

“Thanks,” Holtzmann said, ignoring her unsure tone with a beaming smile. “You may want to close your windows next time you plan to have your delicates out and about. Or we could meet like this again. Your choice.” She winked and Erin felt her heart skip a beat. Her eyes trailed up to her messily pinned up hair and down to her boots and mismatched socks.

“I’d prefer if next time I were wearing clothes,” she replied, allowing a small smile to break through at the low chuckle the comment brought out of Holtzmann.

“My loss,” she said with a cheeky grin, turning toward the apartment complex with the cat winding around her ankles. Erin was impressed that she didn’t trip. “Come on Dingbat,” she said to the cat. “Let’s go home. We should do this again sometime,” she called over her shoulder to Erin, who was still rooted to the spot watching the slight sway of her hips that she suspected was affected for her sake. She laughed awkwardly but did not say no, turning back to her house to finish getting prepared for her date. And to pick out different underwear.


	2. Chapter 2

The late evening found Erin Gilbert climbing out of a taxi cab alone. She was barefooted once again, carrying her high heels in her hand as she walked the short distance to her door. Her feet were killing her, the pain amplified by her annoyance in general at the way her date had gone that evening. She climbed the steps to her building and had just put the key in the lock when she heard someone call out from behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around, strongly considering just playing deaf.

Holtzmann stood on the sidewalk at the foot of the steps with the same grin from earlier plastered on her face. A leash was clutched in her hand and at the other end was Schrödinger, wearing a little red harness and looking perfectly contented at being walked like a dog. His black and white fur stuck up like spikes around the collar of the harness, making him look faintly as though he had stuck his tail into an electrical socket.

“Hey E,” she said, standing there like this was an entirely normal thing to be doing at nine o’clock in the evening. She whistled low, looking her up and down. “Hot date then? I hope you were able to find underwear to live up to previous expectations.” She winked again and Erin felt her stomach do a somersault, something she had definitely not felt once on her disaster of a date. “Although,” she added, looking around exaggeratedly, “it would appear he didn’t even have the decency to walk a lady home.” She shook her head, curls bouncing and Erin couldn’t help but stare at the way her hair completely defied all laws of physics. “I don’t like him,” Holtzmann said, the abrupt change in attitude taking Erin so off-guard that she actually laughed out loud.

“I don’t either,” she said, feeling relieved to admit it and laughing harder. There was something about Holtzmann that made her feel at ease in a way she didn’t think she would ever feel again after the date she had just had. Sure, that was overdramatic, but Erin could be prone to dramatics sometimes. Just ask Abby.

She leaned back against her door in the hopes of looking nonchalant in front of this woman who was giving her a concerning amount of butterflies, forgetting that she had unlocked it already. She shrieked when she fell backwards through the doorway and landed hard on her ass. A beat later Holtzmann was standing over, grinning as she offered the slightly dazed woman a hand.

“Schrödinger and I like this underwear much better!”

*****

When she had hailed the taxi to head home from the disastrous date all Erin had wanted to do was sink into a hot bathtub and let the evening soak off of her, hopefully along with her memories. What she had not expected was to end up sitting on a stranger’s sofa with a cat in her lap and a glass (a plastic cup, actually) of wine in her hands. She was still wearing her dress but had ditched her shoes long ago; they were sitting next to Holtzmann’s coffee table. Well, the cardboard box that served as a coffee table anyway.

“Yeah, I wasn’t lying when I said I just moved in,” Holtzmann had also kicked off her shoes, her mismatched striped sock-clad feet resting on top of the box making it buckle alarmingly, and a bottle of beer in her hand. “This is easier to replace though, and since I set my last one on fire…it’s more flammable though.” Erin was about to ask, alarm crossing her face, when Holtzmann spoke again. “He seems to like you,” she nodded toward the cat resting in Erin’s lap. He was still wearing his harness but seemed perfectly content as he purred away under her hands.

 “Animals have never liked me,” Erin replied, slightly in awe as she scratched behind his ears and he didn’t try to injure her in any way. In fact, his purring increased in volume and he rolled over in her lap, exposing his belly for a rub.

“He just likes you for your intimates,” Holtzmann said, jabbing an accusing finger in the direction of the cat. “He just told me. Just now. _I_ on the other hand like you because you seem to be a nice person. And interesting. Not to mention you literally threw yourself at me naked.”

Erin choked a little on her wine, coughing and hoping that the blush spreading across her face could be written off as her death throes. As she got her breathing back under control she realized that Holtzmann was chuckling into her beer, apparently pleased at the reaction she had invoked. Erin took a deep breath and mentally told herself to calm down. Holtzmann fixed her with a yellow tinted stare over the neck of her bottle and Erin knew calming down wasn’t an option. The butterflies in her stomach were awake again.

“I did not throw myself at you,” she muttered, taking a generous sip of wine. “I can’t deny the nudity though. But that was your cat’s fault.”

Holtzmann let out a cackle that made Erin jump and Schrödinger look up at her in mild annoyance. “What can I say? I hear he likes the girls.” She threw another wink Erin’s way. “So tell me about this date. Why didn’t the asshole escort you home and why did you look so miserable?”

Erin let her head drop onto the back of the sofa with a groan. “I almost don’t want to relive it.”

“You don’t have to,” Holtzmann said quickly, suddenly completely serious. Erin couldn’t help but smile at how fast she had backtracked when she sensed Erin was uncomfortable.

“No, it’s okay. It’ll be funny after a while. Maybe in a few years.” She lifted her cup to take a generous gulp of her wine and was disappointed to see that it was gone. Without a word, Holtzmann took the cup from her hand and padded to the kitchen in her different from earlier but still mismatched socks. After a moment Erin had another cup of wine in her hands and Holtzmann had sat back down, maybe just a fraction closer than she had before, though Erin figured she was imagining it. Holtzmann turned to face her on the sofa and tucked her feet underneath her, clearly giving Erin her undivided attention for the story. Even Schrödinger sat up in her lap and stared at her intently, giving her the creeps just a little bit.

Erin released a sigh before starting to tell her story. “It started out fine,” Erin said, thinking back to the start of the evening. The man had been very kind and polite to her, taking her jacket and pulling her chair out for her to sit—all the typical date things to do. “He was very gentlemanly and he was attractive enough.” The smirk on Holtzmann’s face made her cringe.

“You don’t sound that excited,” she deadpanned, seeming to have no qualms about interrupting Erin’s story. If she had known her better Erin would have reached across and shoved her but she caught herself at the last second. This wasn’t Abby. This was a woman she had only met that afternoon.

“Ok, fine. He wasn’t that great looking.” Erin rolled her eyes in exasperation. Could Holtzmann really read her that well already or was she just that transparent? “Anyway, the dinner went well. We talked about my job and his job and the usual first date stuff. And then the dinner ended but we were still talking. He didn’t seem to want to leave and I was still enjoying myself at that point. And then he…ah…he pulled out a deck of cards.”

Holtzmann had opened her mouth when Erin mentioned jobs like she was going to ask a question but at the mention of cards she abruptly snapped it shut again. “He…what?” She chuckled like she thought Erin was joking but stopped when she realized that Erin was not laughing along with her.

“He pulled out a deck of cards.” Erin chugged the last of her second cup of wine and set the cup on the floor so she could put her head in her hands. Schrödinger complained slightly and left Erin’s lap to settle in Holtzmann’s instead. Erin missed the warmth of the cat but actually found it within herself to smile as she watched Holtzmann lift her shirt slightly so the cat could crawl into it, turning into a squirming lump until his head poked out the collar next to hers. Holtzmann-Schrödinger the two-headed monster stared at her with an intensity that reminded her that she was in the middle of a story, so she cleared her throat and continued.

“All of a sudden I was in the middle of an impromptu magic show and oh my God Holtz it was so bad.” The nickname slipped out unbidden but Holtzmann seemed to pay it no mind. Instead she watched Erin closely, biting her lips in an attempt not to laugh. Erin seemed so distressed over the whole thing that she would feel bad laughing but honestly the mental image of Erin sitting there in her nice dress as a man whipped out a deck of cards and started rattling off bad magic tricks was so comical that she was having a very hard time containing her laughter.

“But he didn’t stop there,” Erin continued, picking at a loose string on the hem of her dress. “No, he pulled out an whole magic set. Vanishing coins and things like that.” Holtzmann’s jaw actually dropped and Erin couldn’t help but laugh herself when she got a mouthful of whiskers in return. “Holtzmann, we attracted an audience. Soon there was a whole cluster of people standing around our table watching him do these magic tricks and laughing because he was so bad at it. I’m pretty sure they were laughing at me, too, because I was stupid enough to go on a date with him.” She wished she had more wine but knew that a third cup would be a bad idea. She trusted Holtzmann despite having just met her but she still didn’t want to be drunk in front of a total stranger.

By this point Holtzmann was visibly trying to hold in her laughter. “Go ahead and laugh,” Erin said. “I know you want to.” Instead Holtzmann leapt dramatically from the sofa, throwing her arms in the air as Schrödinger gave an annoyed whine and slipped out of her shirt and back onto the sofa.

“And for my next trick!” she bellowed, earning a pained groan from Erin. “I will make all of Erin’s pride disappear! All of it!”

“Thanks Holtzmann,” Erin said flatly. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“Oh come on E. This will be a great story to tell once you’re able to stop cringing!”

Erin reached out boldly and grabbed Holtzmann’s hand, yanking her back down onto the sofa next to her, much closer than she had been before. Schrödinger narrowly avoided being sat on and finally decided he had had enough of them, hopping off the sofa and disappearing somewhere down the hallway.

“You are an ass,” Erin said, playfully enough that Holtzmann could tell she was joking. Mostly.

“That may be true,” Holtzmann replied, leaning closer and tilting her head in a way that made the butterflies in Erin’s stomach wake up again.  “But I’m an ass who doesn’t know a Single. Magic. Trick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all have been amazing. I didn't expect this story to get so much positive feedback (or feedback at all honestly), but every review and kudos has made me grin so big. But thank you and I hope you're willing to continue along with me. :)
> 
> I wouldn't normally put this here, but I just wanna say that after Tuesday night, I know we all need a little cheering up. The results absolutely suck, and while I know we (or I at least) all wanna sit in a corner and cry, we have to keep going. Band together, lean on each other, protect each other, and show the assholes out there that we are stronger than them and that we're stronger together. We'll get through this. <3


	3. Chapter 3

After that first night it became tradition for Erin to go over to Holtzmann’s apartment after a bad date, and being that Erin was notorious for bad dates she found herself over often. For the first time in her life Erin found herself not caring when a date went terribly because it meant she had an excuse to visit Holtzmann. In fact, she actually went into her dates thinking about sitting on Holtzmann’s sofa later in the evening, sipping wine and laughing with the other woman about disastrous date stories. Only her own stories though, as Holtzmann seemed reluctant to open up too much about herself. At first Erin had worried that maybe this meant she would find a body stashed somewhere in the house or find out that Holtzmann ran a drug ring or something else equally absurd. As she very slowly got to know the woman, however, she began to realize that she was just a closed off person, despite her flamboyant exterior.

Often Erin wondered if she was being an imposition. Holtzmann hadn’t indicated anything of the sort to her, but Erin worried anyway. It was in her nature to feel like a burden after being treated as one for most of her life. As a child her parents had acted as though her fears were ridiculous and she had known without them telling her that they wished their child was normal. On top of that, growing up as Ghost Girl had given her quite the complex. When it came to friendships it took a conscious effort on her part to shove her insecurities deep into the recesses of her mind. She had done it with Abby, worrying almost obsessively that one day Abby would decide that being friends with someone as neurotic as Erin was just too much work to keep up. And now she was doing the same thing with Holtzmann. She told herself over and over that Holtzmann enjoyed her company and that she wouldn’t invite her over to her apartment if she didn’t. Unless she felt sorry for Erin, which was something she could’t even bear to think about.

Instead she remained in denial about everything, her fears and her insecurities and above all else, her feelings. Erin had realized pretty early into her growing friendship with Holtzmann that she was beginning to fall for her but she had hoped that the feelings would go away on their own. Over the years she had become rather adept at crushing her feelings for women. She had realized early in high school that she liked both women and men but the only woman she had even come close to exploring this with was Abby, and they had called it quits pretty early on out of the fear that their friendship would be ruined. Erin had always envied Abby’s ability to be unapologetically herself without worrying what other people thought. Erin was too afraid of how her sexuality might affect her career that she had tried her best to ignore it. She couldn’t deny that the feelings were there but she made no move to embrace them. Until now.

While she still pursued men, more out of obligation now than anything serious, she always longed for the time spent at Holtzmann’s apartment. She knew that it wasn’t just because Holtzmann was good company and made her feel better either. She was falling for the other woman alarmingly fast and she knew she would have to confront her feelings eventually, but for the moment she was satisfied to continue pretending they didn’t exist.

*****

“—And then, you’re not going to believe this,” Erin said and then snorted in an unladylike way into her usual plastic cup of wine. Holtzmann had slowly started getting furniture and real glasses but it had become a kind of weird routine for Erin to drink out of the same plastic cup every visit. “He ordered off the menu for me. He didn’t even ask what I like or if I have any dietary restrictions. And he ordered fish. I _hate_ fish.”

Yet another date had come and gone and Erin was glad she hadn’t decided to stay home like she had been considering. She had been feeling, once again, like an imposition despite knowing that it was all in her own mind, her date that night magnifying her worries to almost unbearable heights. She hadn’t even gotten the chance to decide if she was going to hide out at her own house though because when she had gotten home (by herself in a taxi once again) there was Holtzmann walking her cat down the sidewalk. She was beginning to suspect that this wasn’t just an innocent, routine walk for her and that she was actually ensuring that Erin wouldn’t hide, which was exactly what she had been planning to do. So here she was sitting on Holtzmann’s sofa once again, this time wearing sweats and a T-shirt with her hair thrown up into a quick, messy bun. It had taken some prompting from Holtzmann to finally get her to put her concerns aside and open up about her date. She hadn’t even known how Erin was feeling and yet somehow she still had been able to put her fears to rest.

“Wait, you didn’t eat?” Holtzmann asked, concern etched clearly across her face. Schrödinger was stretched out between them, his front half in Erin’s lap and his backside and feet in Holtzmann’s.

“No!” Erin exclaimed, still so wrapped up in her story that she didn’t notice the expression the other woman wore or realize that it had been a serious question. “No, and I don’t think he even noticed.” The wine was going to her head a little quicker this time on a mostly empty stomach and she set the cup down so she wouldn’t drink too fast and turn sloppy.

Abruptly and without a word Holtzmann got up from the sofa and walked to her kitchen. Before Erin could wonder what she was doing and why she never offered an explanation for her actions she returned with a tube of Pringles. Shoving them underneath Erin’s nose she said,” I don’t have a refrigerator yet so I’ve been ordering in a lot. We can order something if you’d like.” Erin took the chips, oddly touched by the gesture.

“It’s ok,” she said, pleasantly surprised by how good they were. It had been a while since she had indulged in junk food and these were excellent. She turned her attention back to Holtzmann and noticed her expression. “I’m fine, really! I had a late lunch.” Holtzmann still didn’t look entirely convinced but didn’t insist. Erin turned so she could face her on the sofa, sitting crosslegged. She offered her the tube of chips and Holtzmann hesitated before accepting. Schrödinger stretched languidly at Erin’s movement and sat up, sticking his face into the tube and stealing a chip before they could stop him. He crunched loudly between them, getting crumbs everywhere. Erin wrinkled her nose a little but said nothing. It had taken her a little while but she was getting used to both the cat and his owner’s eccentricities. Holtzmann treated him more like a child than a pet and he acted accordingly.

“Salty parabolas are our favorite,” Holtzmann said with a grin, making a duck beak out of them. “Please continue,” she said, her voice muffled by the snack.

Erin laughed, leaning her elbow against the back of the sofa and resting her head in her hand. She stared for just a moment before realizing what she was doing and shaking her head a few times to clear her thoughts.

“So anyway, we’re sitting there talking, him eating and me just sitting there drinking the water _he_ ordered for me. He starts telling me about what he does for a living and about his hobbies. Holtzmann, he was so boring. I don’t even remember what he told me because I was only half listening. I was dying for the date to be over and I was actually considering faking sick to get out of it. It would have been convincing, too, being that I hadn’t touched anything on my plate.”

Holtzmann reached for the chips again, brushing Erin’s hand in the process. Erin felt her skin tingle like when she had managed to shock her fingertips in the lab and she wondered if Holtzmann could feel it, too. “That’s pretty bad,” she said through another mouthful of chips. “Please tell me this guy doesn’t get any worse.”

“Oh he does,” Erin said, resisting the urge to shake the tingling feeling out of her hand. She didn’t want Holtzmann to think that she was freaked out by her touch when the truth was exactly the opposite. She took a deep breath and told herself to act normal. The last thing she wanted to do was mess this up.

“So as we’re finally leaving after he’s droned on and on for at least an hour—in which he didn’t ask me about myself once mind you—he asks the server for separate checks. Now I’m not a traditionalist in that sense. I can pay for my own meal. But it took me off guard and if I’m entirely honest it felt quite rude, especially since he ordered for me without even asking what I wanted. So I paid for a meal that I didn’t even eat.” She looked up from her hands where she had subconsciously been rubbing the tips of her fingers and was surprised to see that Holtzmann actually looked angry. “It’s ok, really. I’m not upset. And it gives me a great story to tell you, right? But wait, there’s more." She was talking more than she had about anything unrelated to science in a long time and it was refreshing to have a captive audience for once.

“At this point I’ve paid for my own meal and I’m glad he ordered me a water too because that nasty smelling fish was not cheap. We walk outside and he actually apologizes for making me pay. So I think that maybe I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. And do you know what he says to me?” Erin leaned over and picked her cup up again, figuring that she would need alcohol to finish this story. She took a sip and licked her lips. Holtzmann was watching her every move and Erin was beginning to feel rather warm under her scrutiny, though she wrote it off as being from the wine.

“He says, ‘I’m sorry I had to ask you to pay. I told my wife this was a business meeting and I couldn’t have her see me pay for two meals on my card.’ Can you believe the nerve?”

Holtzmann’s eyes were wide and when she spoke her voice barely reached above a whisper. “What did you do?” she asked, her hand halfway into the tube of Pringles but the snack forgotten entirely. She was leaning forward on her cushion and Erin thought it was almost cute how into her story she was.

“My first instinct was to hit him,” Erin said, and Holtzmann let out a triumphant cackle. “So I did.” She held up her hand, showing Holtzmann her bruised knuckles for the first time that night. She let out a low whistle and took Erin’s hand in her own to get a closer look. She brushed her finger carefully across the bruises and Erin felt the same tingles as before travel up her arm and settle somewhere in her chest. “And then I hailed a taxi and I left. I think he was still sitting on the steps when we drove away.”

“I didn’t know you had it in you E,” Holtzmann said, winking at Erin and pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Erin felt her breath catch and thought she might die right there on the spot, but before she could Holtzmann was all business again. “I think I still have a few instant ice packs from the last time I had a projectile come flying at my head. We really should put something on those bruises.” Immediately she had jumped up from the sofa and bounded into the kitchen, leaving Erin bewildered and more than a little flushed on the sofa, only one thought really taking form in her flustered mind.

_'Why on earth would she have projectiles flying at her head?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all's reviews are making my day. Seriously, I refresh this page multiple times per day to see if anyone has commented and they make me so happy. Writing in this fandom has been such a good experience. :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and feel free to come talk to me on Tumblr at ma-ghostly-petite!
> 
> (Also can someone tell me why my note for chapter one is still showing up on every chapter?)


	4. Chapter 4

Things continued comfortably between the two women for several weeks. Erin started going over to Holtzmann’s apartment even on evenings when she didn’t have a date. Eventually Holtzmann got a refrigerator and some real furniture so once or twice they even cooked a meal together before sitting down to watch a movie, Schrödinger sitting between them whining for scraps. Erin noticed that Holtzmann had a tendency to make things explode (or go “poof” as her friend preferred to put it), and so wasn’t surprised in the slightest when she found out that Holtzmann was an engineer. Holtzmann didn’t give her any more details than that, however, and Erin had to restrain herself from pumping her for more information. In the time that she had spent hanging out with the other woman she realized that Holtzmann was like one of the equations she would spend days and even weeks working on in her and Abby’s lab; she knew that eventually she would figure out the solution. She just had to be patient and keep trying new approaches.

That was why the next time a date rolled around Erin found herself reluctant to go. She had already been thinking about the next time she would go over to Holtzmann’s apartment and was wondering if maybe she should invite her over to her place instead. Erin loved how cozy Holtzmann’s apartment felt and how Schrödinger would wind around her ankles meowing when she first came in as though he hadn’t seen her in years. But she didn’t want Holtzmann to think that she was using her either.

Despite her misgivings Erin decided to go on the date after all, shooting Holtzmann a quick text telling her her plans and that maybe with her current unlucky streak that she would have another story to tell her that evening. Holtzmann replied quickly with a “can’t wait” and a winking face that made Erin’s heart speed up in a way she knew was stupid even by her standards.

Even though deep down she didn’t want the date to go well Erin still found herself nervous. Surprisingly enough though the man seemed perfectly normal, average even. He met her at a nice restaurant and behaved in a gentlemanly manner. He didn’t order for her and he didn’t pull out a magic set or seem to have any ongoing relationships. They got along well. Well enough, in fact, that Erin didn’t realize how much time had passed until she checked her watch and it was after nine o’clock.

“Would you like to come back to my place for a bit?” he asked, holding her coat up so she could shrug into it. “Nothing funny, I promise. Just a nightcap? I’ve been enjoying our conversation.”

Erin hesitated. This man, an accountant, was very polite and interesting enough to talk to but she had only just met him a few hours ago. To Abby’s chagrin she had allowed a coworker to set her up this time, her fellow teacher telling her that he was a very nice man who had just fallen into a dating slump after his last girlfriend left him. But even though they had shared some interesting, if not slightly dull, conversation Erin couldn’t keep her mind from wandering to another certain someone whose place she had ended up at mere hours after meeting her. Holtzmann would be waiting for their traditional after-date conversation. She didn’t want her to worry but she also wasn’t dating Holtzmann. The idea of ruining what had the potential to be a really good evening for someone she wasn’t even involved with made her feel stupid.

“I’d love to,” she heard herself saying. “Um, let me…let me just make a phone call first, ok? I don’t want my…roommate to worry.” She grinned awkwardly at the man and stepped into the hallway leading to the restaurant’s restrooms. She was surprised to find that her hands were shaking as she dialed Holtzmann’s phone number. She felt nauseous as she listened to it ringing and actually jumped when Holtzmann picked up.

“Hey, it’s Erin,” she said, feeling dumber by the second. “Um, so, funny story. This date is actually going really well. I mean, really well by my standards I guess you could say.” She gave an awkward little laugh that she hated the sound of immediately. The longer she thought about it the more she came to the conclusion that the man _was_ kind of boring, at least compared to Holtzmann, but after the dates she had been having boring was a welcome change. She reminded herself again that she wasn’t dating Holtzmann, despite wishing she was on an increasingly more conscious level, and that if she ever wanted any of these dates to work out she needed to make an effort on her end as well. The only problem was that she didn’t really want to make the effort when the object of her growing affection was not in the restaurant with her but sitting at home alone.

“Oh,” Holtzmann said on the other end, and Erin was surprised to hear how small her voice sounded over the phone. “That’s great E.”

“Thanks,” she replied, noticing how hollow the congratulation sounded. “Um, he invited me back to his place for a bit. Nothing funny, just a nightcap.” She cringed a little at hearing herself echoing his words. There was silence on the other end of the line so Erin kept talking to fill it.

“So…do you think we could take a raincheck on tonight?” she asked, feeling guilty as hell about cancelling on Holtzmann. It was inevitable, though, if she kept going on dates that this would happen eventually. She silently begged Holtzmann not to have her feelings hurt. There was a long pause on the other end and Erin almost thought that they had been disconnected when Holtzmann’s voice came across the line again.

“Of course Erin.” She was a little startled by how subdued her voice sounded. She was so used to her upbeat self that the tone sounded strange in her mouth. “You deserve to have a good date for once. Go have fun, okay? I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Thank you Holtz. Bye.” Erin hesitated for a moment before hanging up, hoping that Holtzmann would say something more, but the line went dead after a quiet “goodbye” from the other end. Erin stood for a few seconds to get her breathing back under control before turning and walking back into the main part of the restaurant feeling like there was lead resting in her stomach.

*****

The next time Holtzmann heard from Erin was around midnight that night. She had been dozing fretfully on her sofa, unable to sleep soundly knowing that Erin was at a perfect stranger’s house despite having been that stranger herself no more than two months ago. She knew it wasn’t her place to worry but she was the kind of person who got attached hard when she allowed it to happen, and somehow Erin had gotten under her skin quicker than just about anyone else she had ever known. When her cell phone rang she sat up so fast it was as though she had never been asleep, and when she heard Erin sniffling on the other end of the line she was putting her shoes and coat on before Erin had even gotten any words out.

“I’m s-so sorry Holtz,” Erin said over the phone as Holtzmann hastily shoved her wallet into her back pocket. “I guess I could have called someone else but you were the first person I thought of and—and…”

As concerned as she was Holtzmann was touched that she was the first person Erin had thought to call though she told herself that it was probably because they were practically neighbors than anything else. “Erin, where are you?” she asked, trying to remain calm and not picture the hundred different situations she could have gotten herself into.

“I’m downtown at the police station,” Erin replied, and at her stuffy sounding voice Holtzmann knew for sure that she had been crying. “I’m okay, nothing happened. Or well, nothing happened to me anyway. But they’re insisting that someone come pick me up and you were the first person who came to mind. I’m so sorry Holtz, you were probably asleep.”

“No, I wasn’t. Nope, not me. I don’t sleep. Wide awake right here.” She wasn’t lying. She hadn’t been sleeping well to begin with and the sound of her phone ringing had woken her more thoroughly than several cups of coffee could have. “Which police station are you at E?”

“I’m at the corner of Pearl and Madison. Do you know where that one is?” Erin still sounded freaked out on the other end of the line but didn’t seem to be crying anymore, which made Holtzmann feel just a little bit better. Little did she know that it was the use of her nickname for Erin that had helped her calm down.

“Of course I do,” she replied, grabbing her apartment keys and stopping to give Schrödinger a quick pat on the head on her way out. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, okay E? Just hang on, I’ll be right there.”

*****

Sitting at the police station was the last way Erin expected to spend her night. She had not been intending to do any more with her date than have a glass or two to drink and then politely excuse herself to go home. She hadn’t even been planning to drop in on Holtzmann by that point; while she had felt bad about cancelling their plans (she couldn’t help but feel as though she had stood her friend up) she knew that she was going to get home late and had hoped that Holtzmann would have gone to bed.

Instead here she came, barging into the police station wearing pajama pants and some kind of dark red house coat over a T-shirt that looked like it had been subjected to flames more than once, her boots untied like an afterthought and a pair of yellow tinted glasses perched in her curls. Were the situation not already ridiculous enough she would have laughed at Holtzmann’s appearance. As it was she was more than happy to see her, jumping up from her hard chair and throwing her arms around her neck.

Holtzmann hesitated before wrapping her arms around Erin’s waist and Erin realized that they had not touched in so intimate a way yet. She felt her heart rate increase and fought back a small freakout, burying her face in Holtzmann’s shoulder instead. She breathed deeply and realized how much she had truly missed her smell in just the few hours they had been apart. Holtzmann’s hold on her was stiff so Erin clung harder until she felt Holtzmann’s arms tighten in return and her whole frame relax into the embrace.

“E, what happened?” Holtzmann asked quietly. Erin just shook her head against her shoulder and Holtzmann felt the tell-tale wetness of tears against her sleeve. Erin took a shuddering breath.

“Just get me out of here.”

“Your wish is my command.”

*****

There was a surprising amount of paperwork to fill out, most of it being the police officer’s job to complete. From the information Holtzmann could glean from the officer on duty, Erin still seeming unwilling to speak in more than short sentences, there had been some kind of drug bust at the man’s house. Erin had not been convicted but it had been policy to bring her downtown and drug test her. It was also required that someone come to pick her up.

“Name?” asked the surly looking police officer sitting behind the desk. Erin didn’t blame him for looking put out; it was almost one in the morning by that point. She clung to Holtzmann’s arm like a child and wished that she didn’t feel so vulnerable.

“Dr. Jillian Holtzmann,” Holtzmann replied, jokingly matching the officer’s grouchy tone with her own. Erin’s heart skipped a beat at hearing her full name and her title. She realized that she hadn’t heard Holtzmann’s first name yet or known that she was a doctor despite having known her for quite a while now.

“Alright, sign here,” the officer said, unperturbed by her tone as he pushed the paper toward Holtzmann. Glancing over her shoulder Erin realized that they had put Holtzmann down as being Erin’s significant other. If Holtzmann noticed she didn’t say a word and despite the fierce blush that was spreading scarlet across her face Erin followed her lead.

“Let’s walk,” Holtzmann said as they exited the police station. The early morning air was cool and clear so Erin agreed despite feeling a little nervous about walking the streets this late at night. She was still holding onto the crook of Holtzmann’s elbow and although she felt a little stupid she couldn’t bring herself to let go. “But you have to tell me what happened. You owe me.” She softened the blow of the harsh sounding words with a wink that Erin could barely see in the dim street lights. Erin could sense that Holtzmann was feeling a little overwhelmed and sighed, hoping that she could make everything okay between the two of them again.

“Everything seemed great at first,” she began, thinking back on the dinner that felt as though it had happened ages ago. “I mean, he was a little boring, but that was a welcome change from what I’ve been dealing with the past month or so. And he told me that he was enjoying our conversation, which was a plus. So when he asked me to come home with him I said alright. As you already know.” She felt a small twinge of guilt but a sideways glance at Holtzmann calmed her nerves a little. The other woman was looking at her as she told her story but there was no anger or even hurt in her eyes. Just concern. It was the calmest Erin had seen Holtzmann since meeting her and she thought maybe it was her subdued manner that was helping her relax.

“So he drove us to his house. And gosh was it a nice house. Two stories, amazing lawn. You don’t see houses like that in New York very often. So we went inside and he poured me a glass of wine and we sat down in the living room together.” She remembered sitting there next to this man and willing him to become someone different—someone with a shock of blonde hair that looked like she had stuck a finger into an electrical outlet. It was at that moment that Erin had realized the date wasn’t going to go anywhere she wanted it to. No date would go where she wanted it to again unless it was with the woman walking next to her.

“We talked for a while and I was beginning to relax a little but I still wanted to go home soon. I had no intention of taking the evening further,” she wrinkled her nose at the thought of physical contact with the man. A glance to the side showed her that Holtzmann was smiling.

“So no special underwear for him, eh?” she asked, her lips quirking into a halfhearted smirk. Erin swallowed thickly and tried to smile back, sliding her hand down so that her fingers could intertwine with Holtzmann’s. The smirk slipped from Holtzmann’s face and she turned her head so she was staring straight ahead again but didn’t let go.

“No, that’s only for Schrödinger,” Erin replied, feeling both stupid and brave simultaneously. Holtzmann chuckled and Erin continued her story. “I was about to ask him if he would take me home when there was a banging on the door.” She squeezed Holtzmann’s hand and felt her squeeze back. “It was the police. They had gotten an anonymous tip that this man was in possession of drugs and had decided that tonight was the night to perform a raid. I didn’t understand why there would be so many officers until I heard someone shouting. Holtz this man had meth cooking in his basement while we were upstairs having a boring conversation!”

Holtzmann stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk. Erin didn’t notice and kept walking until she was pulled backwards by their still joined hands. Holtzmann looked genuinely unsettled.

“Do you know how dangerous that is?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Erin, what if that had blown up while you were there? That’s no small poof.”

“It didn’t though,” Erin replied, realizing how childish her comment sounded. “I’m fine Holtz.”

Holtzmann used their connected hands to tug her forward gently, wrapping her arms around her again. This was different from the police station. The embrace was warm and when Holtzmann whispered “I know you’re okay,” into Erin’s hair a shiver raced down her spine. “I’m glad you’re okay. Erin, this night could have ended so much worse than the police station.” She pulled away and Erin could have sworn she glanced down at her lips so fast that she almost missed it. There was a heart stopping moment when Erin thought Holtzmann might actually kiss her but it passed when a huge grin spread across her face. It was the first genuine smile Erin had seen on her since she had arrived at the police station and nothing that night had relaxed her like seeing Holtzmann looking like her usual self.

“Wanna come back to my place and watch a movie to get your mind off of things? I mean, I’ll understand if you just wanna go to bed but…” she trailed off with a shrug, looking down at her feet with her arms still draped across Erin’s shoulders. There was just a moment when Erin almost said no. It was after one in the morning after all. But a closer look at the nervous expression on Holtzmann’s face made her mind up for her.

“I’d love to,” Erin replied, leaning in and kissing Holtzmann gently on the cheek. Holtzmann looked at her with wide eyes and although Erin couldn’t see the flush on her cheeks in the dim light of the street lights she had felt it burning against her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ran away from me and grew to be about 1k longer than usual! I hope you enjoyed. I'm still a teeny bit unsatisfied with it and I can't figure out why, but hopefully it reads well. :)
> 
> Reviews make my life. Seriously guys, I can't begin to express how great they make me feel. This is the best response I've gotten to a fanfiction ever and I appreciate it so much!
> 
> I'm ma-ghostly-petite on Tumblr if you wanna say hi! Also my amazing partner i-smell-lesbians has been beta reading for me and offering suggestions, so you should go say hi to her too. :) (I still claim all mistakes.;))


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh this is a bit of a filler chapter but I hope I added in enough fluff to carry y'all through!

Erin had not intended to stay the night at Holtzmann’s apartment but after the way her day had gone she wasn’t really surprised to find that she had fallen asleep barely forty-five minutes into the movie.

They had stopped by Erin’s house quickly so she could pick up something comfortable to wear instead of spending the evening sitting there in her, now overused, stiff green dress. When they got back to Holtzmann’s apartment she had poured Erin a much appreciated cup of wine and grabbed a beer for herself before settling in next to her on the sofa. They chose a movie without really looking at the description and lost interest quickly in favor of talking more about how the night had gone.

“What does he do for a living? Besides create illegal substances that is. Can’t say I haven’t been in that position before,” Holtzmann drawled, tapping her chin and looking at the ceiling in thought. “Not drugs,” she added quickly, noticing Erin gaping at her.

Erin closed her mouth and shook her head. “He’s an accountant.”

“An accountant who cooks meth.”

“Apparently so.”

Holtzmann took a contemplative sip of her beer. They had started the evening sitting side by side but eventually Holtzmann had squirmed her way around so that she was leaning against the arm of the sofa with her feet in Erin’s lap. Generally feet grossed Erin out but somehow Holtzmann’s were okay. She rested her forearms against her friend’s legs and watched her drink. The past few times she had hung out with Holtzmann she had noticed that she had become unnervingly conscious of the small details about the other woman. She liked watching the way her long fingers wrapped around the neck of the beer bottle and how her lips looked as she took a sip. Erin swallowed nervously and cleared her throat.

“I’ve always been curious about meth,” Holtzmann said, not noticing Erin’s discomfort at all as she was clearly deep in thought. Erin’s head whipped around and she stared at her incredulously.

“What?!”

“I don’t want to _do_ meth,” Holtzmann said, snapping out of her reverie as she noticed how the comment had sounded. “I’m just curious about…about the cooking process. What’s involved and why is it so unstable? Because, Erin, it really is extremely unstable. You’re really lucky, you know.”

“I’m aware,” Erin deadpanned, rolling her eyes. She was touched that Holtzmann had been worried about her but at this point she really just wanted to forget the evening had ever happened. “Holtzmann, why are you so interested in this?”

Holtzmann shrugged and tilted her head, wiggling her toes in thought. “It’s a chemical reaction. And I love poofs of all sizes. Just not when people I care about are in danger.”

Hearing Holtzmann refer to her as someone she cared about moved Erin but she didn’t think Holtzmann even realized what she had said. She was too caught up thinking about chemical reactions and explosions. Erin cleared her throat again and changed the subject. “So. _Dr. Jillian Holtzmann._ Can I call you Jillian? How about Jill?”

Holtzmann pulled herself out of her thoughts entirely at the question and wrinkled her nose in a way that Erin was finally willing to admit that she found adorable. “Ew. I hate that name. You may, however, call me Doctor.” She winked and Erin felt as though the room grew several degrees warmer.

It wasn’t even ten minutes later that she was asleep, and it felt like even less time before she was waking up to the faint sunlight struggling to find its way through Holtzmann’s window. She stretched awkwardly and groaned, not quite wanting to get up yet; she was deliciously warm and comfortable. Holtzmann’s sofa was much softer than she realized. In fact, it was surprisingly soft…

Erin looked up nervously. She was lying against Holtzmann, both of them having fallen asleep on the sofa with the movie menu looping forgotten on the television. She felt her heart rate increase as she looked closer at the scientist sleeping underneath her.

Holtzmann was lying on her back with her head propped awkwardly on the arm of the sofa. She was sure to have a crick in her neck when she woke up but Erin couldn’t find it in her heart to disturb her yet. She looked so peaceful despite the light snores she was emitting. She had an arm draped around Erin’s waist and she felt tingly where their skin made contact at the hem of Erin’s T-shirt that had ridden up. She glanced down to where Holtzmann’s spread eagled legs took up most of the sofa, her mismatched socks clashing with each other and one of the toes so worn out that Erin could see her big toe peeking out from the fabric.

Erin knew she had two options. She could wake Holtzmann and ruin the moment entirely or she could hold still until she woke up and feign ignorance in the hopes that they could laugh it off. After panicking silently for a few moments she decided that pretending to be asleep was the best course of action and had nothing to do with the fact that she was feeling so warm in Holtzmann’s embrace.

Gently Erin laid her head back down, determinedly ignoring her proximity to Holtzmann's chest. She could hear her breathing from this position and smiled despite herself, her eyes slipping shut as she listened to her heartbeat. Moving slowly so as not to jar Holtzmann awake she carefully lay her arm across her and squeezed gently. She didn’t intend to fall asleep again but before she knew it she was being lightly shaken awake.

“E. Hey, E,” Holtzmann’s voice was softer than Erin had ever heard it and she blinked blearily as she tried to remember where she was. She pushed herself up a little so she could look at Holtzmann, face steadily turning redder as she took in the other woman’s beaming face. “Hey there.”

“H-hey,” Erin replied, too shocked to make any move to get up. She had been expecting things to be awkward when they woke up, not the calm normalcy of the situation that she was sensing now.

“As cozy as this is,” Holtzmann began with a smirk, her arm tightening just a fraction around Erin’s middle. “I really, really need to pee.” Erin laughed harder than she meant to, both surprised and relieved that Holtzmann could take such an awkward situation and make it funny like normal.

“Right, of course,” Erin replied, sitting up fully and straightening her shirt. “And, actually, I should really get going.” She noticed a flash of disappointment and something else—maybe hurt?—cross Holtzmann’s face before a small smile replaced it. “I have tests to grade for this week and if I don’t get to them today I’m really going to regret it.”

“Okay,” Holzmann said, hopping up from the sofa with much more energy than Erin could muster and leading the way to the door after Erin had slipped her shoes back on. “E?”

“Yes?” Erin stopped closer to Holtzmann than she had intended. She sucked in a breath at their proximity, wishing she had more courage than she currently felt.

Holtzmann hesitated, looking like she was thinking along the same lines as Erin. They locked eyes and for the second time that day Erin thought that Holtzmann may just kiss her. The moment passed when Holtzmann said,” I’m really glad you didn’t get blown up.”

Erin laughed breathlessly, equal halves disappointed and relieved. “Me too Holtzmann. Me too. Thank you for coming to my rescue.” She leaned in and kissed her cheek again, noting the way her skin burned when she pulled away just like the night before. Holtzmann’s eyes widened almost comically and when absentmindedly touched her cheek Erin once again wished that she was just a little braver. “I’ll see you later. Go pee.”

Holtzmann held the door open for her and nodded, still looking a little dazed. “See you later E. I had fun.” She seemed to recover slightly and threw in a wink for good measure before closing the door.

*****

“He what??”

Erin cringed a little as she related the story of her night to her best friend. Where Holtzmann had been concerned Abby was angry and seemed geared up to march straight out and kick some boring accountant ass.

“He’s in jail already, Abby,” Erin said wearily, resting her head in her hand as she watched her friend pace. She had gotten great sleep with Holtzmann, probably the best sleep she had had in a long time, but the events of the morning had made her feel emotionally drained. By the time she had finished teaching her three classes of the day she was more than done. “And it’s okay, I’m fine. No harm no foul.”

Abby still looked skeptical but dropped that particular subject reluctantly. Instead she latched on to another of her favorite topics. “Look, I told you I have a friend I want to set you up with. Give me a chance Erin. If you have a miserable time I’ll owe you one, okay? Not another date. Something else of your choosing.” Erin only groaned in reply. Her head was beginning to pound and it was only two in the afternoon. “Come on Erin, we’re talking about a nuclear engineer here. Think about how good that skill set would be for our little team!”

“You’re killing me Abby,” Erin said, glaring tiredly at her. “You’re trying to put me in an early grave. Probably so you can study me. Is that it Abby? You want a willing subject to study? Because let me tell you, if you kill me I’m coming back to haunt you, not to be your lab rat.”

“No,” Abby said, waving a hand in dismissal. Erin could tell she wasn’t even listening to what she was saying. “No, I want two things. I want my best friend to be happy and have a satisfying love life so she’ll stop moping around the lab and trying to get herself blown up. And I want a nuclear engineer on our team. It’s really a win, win here Erin.”

“Fine,” Erin said against her better judgement. “Fine, I’ll go.”

Abby cheered and headed over to her own desk to text Erin’s mystery date but Erin felt like her stomach had dropped several floors below them. How was she going to tell Holtzmann that she was going on another date after the time they had shared last night? Maybe she was just imagining things and Holtzmann just considered her a friend. Neither of them had treated their morning together like it was anything special, but Erin had felt that it was and she thought maybe Holtzmann had felt it, too. The thought that she was making everything up combined with yet another blind date made her want to curl up under her desk and never come out again.

Erin would humor Abby because she was her best friend but even if the date went well Erin knew she wouldn’t pursue anything. She knew that she should have told Abby about Holtzmann, and that if she had she wouldn't be in this position to begin with. She was closer to Abby than to anyone else she knew and they always confided in each other but something about this situation was holding her back. Something felt unstable, like moving forward without thought could ruin the entire thing. But she also had to find out how Holtzmann felt before she went crazy. She didn’t know what she would do if her feelings weren’t reciprocated but she had to find out one way or another. Her mind was made up. After this last date she was going straight to Holtzmann’s apartment to find out where they stood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said at the beginning, this is more filler than anything, but take heart! Next chapter things really start happening! ;)
> 
> Thanks as always for your lovely comments. I really haven't been this happy writing in a while. Your feedback makes my day!


	6. Chapter 6

Erin had never been entirely sure how her best friend had become the best manipulator on the planet but somehow she was. She wasn’t even that much of a people person but when she yelled jump everyone else in the vicinity asked how high. Maybe it was her loud voice or how intimidating she looked when she came striding towards you with a glint in her eye that meant you were probably about to feel pain in the form of either harsh words or experimental chemicals. Or both.

Erin’s version of ‘how high’ was shinnying herself back into that green dress once more for her impending blind date. She knew that eventually she was going to have to get a new dress to wear on first dates but now that she had acknowledged her growing feelings for Holtzmann she found herself hoping that a first date outfit would soon be unnecessary.

“What’s your friend’s name?” she had asked Abby earlier that afternoon as they cleaned up their lab for the weekend. Abby had chuckled to herself and shaken her head.

“Don’t worry about that, okay? I want you going into this completely blind. Don’t worry. You’ll know.”

Erin almost did a double take, turning around from where she had been straightening papers on her desk. “Abigail!” she exclaimed, satisfied to see her friend wince at the use of her full name. “You’re not even going to tell me his name?”

“I wasn’t planning on it, no. And especially not after you call me that. No, you get to be surprised.”

Erin had left the lab in a huff when she was finished cleaning up, barely saying goodbye to Abby on her way out. She regretted it a little but she could tell her she was sorry later. As she was also telling her “I told you so” after a terrible date.

All Abby had told her was to take a taxi to a local restaurant that they both enjoyed. It wasn’t a particularly fancy place but it was still nice enough for a date. When Erin arrived she looked around nervously, trying to decide if any of the men she saw could be her date. No one looked like they were waiting for anyone else. In fact, all the men she could see were already paired off with dates.

Erin settled for hovering awkwardly in the foyer of the restaurant. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was about five minutes till seven and she tried to tamp her nervousness down. She was always nervous before a date, even one she hoped would go badly so she could end up on Holtzmann’s sofa again and maybe work up the courage to tell her about the feelings she was finally beginning to embrace.

“Table for one?” the hostess asked her, making her jump as she snapped out of her thoughts.

“Um, no, thank you,” Erin said, feeling a little embarrassed that she had assumed she was here on her own. “No, I’m waiting for someone.” The hostess smiled and nodded, setting the menu aside and proceeding to seat another couple. Erin sat down and pretended to be very enthralled with a seam on her dress that was beginning to pull apart instead of paying attention to the sympathetic looks she was starting to get from the people walking by.

When ten past rolled around Erin was just about to give up and go home. Sure, her date could have been delayed. New York always had traffic, but she already didn’t want to be on this date and at this point any excuse to get out of it was enough for her. She had just reached for her purse and stood up with the intention of going home and calling Holtzmann when she heard someone say, “E?”

Erin whipped around at the familiar nickname and felt the breath leave her lungs when she spotted Holtzmann standing at the entrance to the restaurant. She was wearing slacks and a blazer and looked more put together than Erin had ever seen her but this was unmistakably Holtzmann, her hair an intentional mess as always and yellow glasses perched in the blonde curls.

“Holtzmann!” Erin exclaimed, taking a few quick steps and coming up closer to the woman that she expected. “What are you doing here?”All thoughts of her date were forgotten but she did notice the relaxation that coursed through her whole body at the sight of a familiar face.

“Well,” Holtzmann replied with a small smirk. “I do believe I’m your date.”

Erin felt her jaw drop and snapped her mouth shut quickly. _“What?”_ She saw a flicker of uncertainty cross Holtzmann’s face and immediately felt guilty. “Holtzmann, as much as I’d like to think that’s true my friend set me up tonight.” Holtzmann looked pleasantly surprised and Erin realized a beat later what she had actually said.

“Would your friend happen to be one Abigail Yates?”

“You know Abby?” Erin was shocked. “How do you know Abby?” There was a beat and before Holtzmann could reply Erin jabbed a finger into her face. “You! You’re the nuclear engineer she keeps raving about!”

“She’s been raving about me?” Holzmann asked, swelling with pride. “We’ve only met in person twice!”

“Abby set me up with someone she’s only met twice?” Erin asked, not truly being able to be upset with her friend when Holtzmann finally stood in front of her on a date. She shook her head slowly, reaching out to grasp Holtzmann’s arms. “Holtzmann, we’re on a date.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Holtzmann asked, apprehension showing on her face again.

“Yes, yes it’s a good thing!” Erin said happily, bravery overtaking her for just long enough to wrap her arms around Holtzmann’s shoulders. Before she could realize what she had done and panic Holtzmann had hugged her back. They stood for a moment and Erin could smell the faint scent of perfume and something that may have been smoke. Just when Erin was thinking that she never wanted to let go Holtzmann stepped back and offered her arm to Erin.

“Shall we?”

*****

“…So that’s how I ate a whole pizza and a tub of chocolate ice cream by myself in one sitting.” Holtzmann dug into the dessert they were sharing almost as punctuation to her story as Erin looked on with her mouth hanging open slightly. In the course of their hour and a half long meal Erin had learned more about Holtzmann than she had all those evenings she had spent sitting on her sofa. Holtzmann had seemed like such a private person but now that they were officially on a date she had opened up in a way that surprised Erin. She had overflowed with stories and Erin had been more than happy to sit there and listen, especially after all the nights she had monopolized the conversation with her own stories.

“I bet you regretted that,” Erin said with a grin, digging into the dessert herself. The ice cream covered brownie was amazing and Erin averted her eyes as she wondered how Holtzmann’s lips would taste after eating it.

“Are you kidding?” Holtzmann exclaimed. “I’d never regret such a thing!” She paused, a spoonful of ice cream halfway through her mouth and threatening to drip into her lap. “Okay, I regretted the way my stomach felt afterwards, but no, I did not regret performing such an awesome task.” She took a huge bite, some of the ice cream missing her mouth and remaining on her lips. Erin licked her own and swallowed, the bit of ice cream so tempting. _“Oh screw it…”_

Without giving herself time to think Erin lunged across the table and pressed her lips against Holtzmann’s. She tasted sweet like the ice cream and Erin thought that she was going to melt into a puddle right there on the table. When she didn’t feel Holtzmann respond right away she panicked a little, thinking that she had moved too fast. This _was_ their first date, and even if she had slowly been falling for her for months she had no way of knowing if Holtzmann felt the same way. She started to pull away only to find herself tugged forward again by a hand in her hair. As she relaxed again she began to realize how the must have looked, kissing so publicly over their meal, but as Holtzmann deepened the kiss and sighed against her mouth she found that she couldn’t bring herself to actually care.

After a few moments that felt both too short and like an eternity wrapped up in each other, Holtzmann pulled away and looked at Erin through half-closed eyes. They held intense eye contact for a brief moment before Holtzmann broke out into one of the biggest shit eating grins Erin had ever seen.

“Wow,” Holtzmann said, wiggling her eyebrows. “Can we do that again?”

Erin laughed breathlessly, feeling a little embarrassed but not really caring. She was oddly proud of herself for initiating the kiss and for the way Holtzmann was trying to hide her blissful expression behind her usual bravado.

“Holtzmann, I would love nothing more than to do that again. But…do you think maybe we should go somewhere more…private before continuing this?” She looked around. Most of the people in their vicinity had noticed her bold move, and while some were looking happy for them others, mostly older couples, were looking slightly scandalized. Erin felt herself blush and her hand moved seemingly involuntarily as she gave one of the closer couples a small wave.

Holtzmann followed her gaze and chuckled when she saw the wide-eyed people surrounding them. She gave them a two fingered salute and got up, pulling a wallet out of her pocket and leaving some cash on the table. Erin was about to protest and say that they should do it the proper way and wait for the check but Holtzmann’s hand closed around her own and she nearly swooned at the feeling of her skin. She decided that maybe this time it was ok. It did look as though Holtzmann had left a generous tip.

*****

“What made you decide to go on this date?”

The evening was cool but not unpleasant and so when Holtzmann had proposed that they walk home Erin had eagerly agreed. Holtzmann’s hand clasped in her own felt so good and it wasn’t until they were almost back to her building that she really let herself start thinking and worrying. Maybe Holtzmann wasn’t as interested in her as she thought if she was willing to go on dates with other women.

Holtzmann turned her head to look at her intensely. She had a knack for holding eye contact in a way that made Erin wonder what was going on in her mind.

“You did,” she said, bringing their joined hands up so she could kiss Erin’s.

Erin blinked at her, her mind trying to process what she had just heard. “Wait, you knew that I was your date?”

“Yep,” Holtzmann replied, popping the P and swinging their joined hands back and forth as they walked. They had reached her building by now, but when she didn’t offer any more information Erin stopped her from going through the door with a tug on her hand.

“How did you know I was your date?”

“Abby told me.”

Erin dropped their clasped hands with a huff, putting her hands on her hips. “She told you? She made me go into this blind!” She wasn’t really angry. She couldn’t be while she was on a date with Holtzmann. But she was definitely going to give Abby hell for this later.

Holtzmann sighed, looking down as she fiddled with the hem of her blazer. The sudden change in demeanor scared Erin and she almost reached out for her hand again but changed her mind as Holtzmann began to speak. “Look, Erin, I didn’t want to go on this date.” Erin felt her heart sink, pulling her hand away and taking a step backward, her back hitting the wall of the apartment building. All she could think about was the way it had felt to kiss her and how she had responded, her skin still tingling where she had put her hand in Erin’s hair. “Abby told me she wanted to set me up with a friend of hers and I told her I didn’t want to go. I told her there was someone I was seeing and that we had potential and I didn’t want to mess things up between us. I told her a little about my person and she told me a little about hers and eventually we realized that somehow, by some kind of coincidence, we were talking about the same person.”

Erin was on the verge of tears by now. She was listening to what Holtzmann had to say but her frazzled mind wasn’t really interpreting it. All she really heard was that Holtzmann didn’t want to be on this date. She hadn’t wanted to date her and she was probably just humoring her at this point and _oh my god_ she had kissed her right there in the restaurant in front of everyone. She felt a tear slip down her cheek and then Holtzmann took a step forward so she was standing with just a small space between them.

“Erin, you big dummy, don’t cry,” she said quietly, brushing a finger against her cheek. “We were both talking about you. She told me it was you because she realized I was talking about you too and she didn’t want me to mess this up.”

“What?” Erin asked, her uncertainties taking over so she couldn’t think clearly. All she knew was that Holtzmann had closed the distance between them and they were kissing again, Erin pressed against the dirty wall of the apartment building in her nice dress, the brick scratching her skin. She shivered at the contrast of the cold wall behind her and the warm softness against her front. Erin let her hands come up to cup Holtzmann’s jaw and felt Holtzmann’s hands grasp her hips. Her fingers dug in and Erin sighed as she felt the warmth travel suddenly south.

Holtzmann took advantage of her open mouth and slipped her tongue inside before pulling back. Erin groaned in frustration as she leaned in, trying to regain contact, but Holtzmann tilted her head away. “This is no better than the restaurant,” she said, eyeing a few passerby who were staring at them. “Come up with me?”

Erin nodded breathlessly, wanting nothing more than to continue what they had started with these two frustratingly short kisses. Her emotions were still all over the place after thinking that she was being rejected only to turn around and realize that Holtzmann wanted her just as much as she wanted Holtzmann. “Yes please,” she said, her voice raspy from the kiss. With a warm smile Holtzmann grabbed her hand and led her through the door to her building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I've said before, you guys' comments are making my whole life right now! Thank you so much for making writing this a great experience.
> 
> The next chapter might be a little slow going because everything up to this point I had pre-written at least parts of. I'm going into this one entirely from scratch but hopefully I can get it done quickly! I'm also a little out of my element here cause I'm sure you can guess what's coming next. Or rather, who. ;) (I can't believe I just said that.)
> 
> Until next time! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm so sorry this has taken me so long, and I'm also sorry for where I divided this scene. You're all going to hate me. ;)

Despite Holtzmann’s reassurance that she wanted to be on this date Erin couldn’t help but worry that there was still something wrong. The way she had kissed her spoke differently though, and the way she held her hand did things to Erin’s knees until she wondered if she would be able to walk up the stairs. When they made it up to Holtzmann’s apartment Erin sighed shakily and let go of her hand so she could dig her keys out of one of her many pockets.

“Oh, hang on,” Holtzmann said, opening her door and stepping inside, shutting it quickly behind her before Erin could step through. Erin was a little shocked and blinked a few times, her mouth hanging open as she willed herself not to panic. What was she doing? Had she done something wrong?

Before she could get herself really worked up the door swung open again and Holtzmann stood there on the other side in her socks. She looked almost surprised to see Erin standing there.

“Erin!” she exclaimed, a hand pressed over her heart as though she were shocked. “How good to see you. Did you have another bad date? Tell me all about it.”

It took Erin just a moment to catch on and she laughed out loud, partially in relief that they were back to joking and that the tension had been eased some. “Hi Holtzmann,” she replied, stepping through the door and kicking her heels off next to Holtzmann’s boots. She was so used to being at her apartment by now that such mundane routines were second nature to her and she didn’t feel out of place doing them without asking. “I did have a date actually, but would you believe that it wasn’t half bad for once?”

“Whaaat?” Holtzmann drawled, following Erin into the apartment and stepping over Schrödinger to get to the kitchen as Erin tried to make herself comfortable in her usual spot on the sofa despite the stiffness of her dress. The cat jumped up next to Erin and she stroked him as he mewed at her and started purring. “You really have to tell me everything then. Who was she?”

“She?” Erin called so that Holtzmann could hear her from the other room. “What makes you think I went out with a she?” she was happy to play along, incredibly relieved that they were able to act normal after the serious conversation they had had downstairs.

“Oh, I just had a feeling,” Holtzmann said, stepping back into the living room and handing Erin her customary cup of wine. Erin hoped she would lean in and kiss her again but instead Holtzmann flopped down onto the sofa next to her, beer bottle in hand. “You play a good straight man, but I could see right through you from the beginning.”

Erin snorted into her wine at the play on words, embarrassed when a few drops dribbled into her lap. She hoped the green fabric was dark enough that it wouldn’t stain but Holtzmann still leaned over and took the cup from her hand, gently setting it on the coffee table she had finally acquired from a dumpster diving expedition she had told Erin about weeks ago. Looking at her dressed up now Erin wouldn’t have guessed that this was the same woman who had told her all about the different treasures she had found in dumpsters over the years.

“How about we find you something more comfortable to wear?” Erin looked up and noticed for the first time that Holtzmann actually looked marginally nervous herself, as though suggesting that she find Erin something else to wear was too forward of her.

“I’d appreciate that,” Erin replied, relieved to see that she had coaxed a smile out of Holtzmann. The dress _was_ rather stiff and she would like to get a little more comfortable. She hoped that there was more kissing to come and her dress was a little too stiff for such activities.

Holtzmann patted her on the knee and hopped up off the sofa, her usual spring back in her step as she headed back to her bedroom in search of clothing before Erin could even register the contact and resulting goosebumps that had broken out all over her skin. How had she not realized before this how much of an effect Holtzmann had on her? She had slept on top of her on this sofa for goodness sake. It was as though kissing her had opened some kind of floodgate and she was both frightened and excited to see where the night may lead.

Before Erin’s mind could run with her desires Holtzmann came bounding back into the room with a bundle of clothing in her arms. She dumped it into Erin’s lap and jerked her head toward the bathroom. “Strip,” she commanded, a twinkle in her eye.

Erin opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking remarkably like a fish as she struggled to find the words that her brain was processing sluggishly. Finally she decided that speaking wasn’t going to happen so she gathered up the clothes and walked wordlessly down the hallway and into Holtzmann’s bathroom. She locked the door behind her and turned to look at herself in the mirror for the first time since she had gotten ready earlier that evening.

She was surprised and slightly pleased to see that her lipstick was smudged and her hair was out of its customary neat style from where Holtzmann had gathered a handful of it back in the restaurant. She nervously picked up the pile of clothing from the floor. It consisted of a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, both of which smelled vaguely of smoke, probably from whatever most recent explosion Holtzmann had caused. With just a small struggle Erin unzipped her dress, letting it pool around her ankles on the floor. She pulled the T-shirt over her head and laughed quietly when she saw that it said “wake up smarter; sleep with an engineer.” Of course Holtzmann had a shirt like this and of course she would choose this particular one to give to Erin to wear tonight. She probably had a whole closet full of shirts like this. Erin was intrigued by the scientist. Now that she knew a little more about her and also knew that Abby thought highly enough of her that she wanted her on their team Erin wanted to know everything. The other woman had kept her personal and work life rather quiet even with all the times they had hung out so far and Erin wanted to know more.

Erin carefully folded her dress and set it on the bathroom counter by the sink, hoping that it was alright to leave it there before patting her hair down and  padding back into the living room barefooted. She laughed when she saw Holtzmann sprawled out across the sofa, remote in her hand and Schrödinger stretched out across her stomach, now wearing a tiny sweater. She, too, had changed into something more comfortable and the sight made Erin’s mouth go dry as she remembered sleeping pressed up against her.

“Sorry,” Holtzmann offered up. “Can’t move now.” She pointed at the cat who was squinting up at Erin as though daring her to move him.

Erin laughed in response and moved to the end of the sofa, clambering up and positioning Holtzmann’s legs in her lap instead. The cat glared but didn’t move, instead digging into the fabric of Holtzmann’s shirt slightly with his claws, making her wince. “Netflix and chill?” Erin offered up hopefully, satisfied for once to see that Holtzmann’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

“Already way ahead of you,” she said, clicking play on the remote. Erin hadn’t noticed that she had already pulled up a movie but she laughed when she saw the titles for _Jurassic Park_ appear on the screen. Erin ran her hands lightly up and down Holtzmann's shins, prompting a shiver from the engineer. Holtzmann carefully shifted Schrödinger so she could sit up, the cat only protesting mildly, and moved so Erin had room to scoot in next to her, tucking her feet up and leaning into Holtzmann’s side. She wrapped an arm around her and they both sighed in unison at how natural it felt. After a moment of silence Holtzmann gasped and sat up, looking at Erin with wide eyes.

“What, what’s wrong?” Erin asked, alarmed at the sudden change in demeanor.

“We should text Abby.”

_“What?”_

A huge grin was spreading across Holtzmann’s face as she reached for her phone that was sitting on the table in front of them. “We need to text Abby. She’s such a little shit for setting us up and leaving you in the dark.”

“Holtzmann, I’m not so sure about…” Erin began to protest but was cut short when Holtzmann kissed her. It was open-mouthed and wet and sloppy but it was their third kiss of the night and Erin was just beginning to get into it when she heard a faint snap and Holtzmann pulled away, cackling madly.

“Holtzmann!” she leaned over to look at the photo and groaned. “Abby’s gonna hate that. You can’t send that to her.”

“Like hell I can’t,” Holtzmann replied, hitting send. She looked across to Erin with wide eyes. “I’m sorry. Was that alright?”

Erin scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s alright. I’ve known Abby for years. She owes me a few embarrassments.” Holtzmann grinned at her, apparently very pleased with the way the evening was turning out. Erin herself was beginning to think about how nice it would be to have a nuclear engineer on their team…

“Tell me about your terrible date?” Holtzmann asked, and although her tone was light there was a flicker of worry that she tried to disguise as she turned her head to look Erin in the eye.

“There’s nothing bad to tell,” Erin replied with a smile, taking hold of Holtzmann’s arm to reposition it around her shoulders and using her other hand to pet Schrödinger on the head. “I think you would have liked this girl. She was very polite and she has great taste in food. Especially dessert. And she can eat like a horse. It was really impressive. I’m not sure where she puts it all.” She poked Holtzmann in the side and she squirmed away from her finger. “But on top of everything she’s a really phenomenal kisser.”

“Erin Gilbert,” Holtzmann said, looking down at her in mock shock. “I didn’t know you were the kind of girl who kisses on the first date.” She was ignoring the movie and Erin had the feeling, or rather the hope, that neither of them would be paying any attention to it soon. As she decided on her next move she found that the entire room felt like it had heated up by several degrees.

“Sometimes I kiss on the first date,” Erin said, not quite looking her in the eye. She was nervous. “I don’t usually do more until at least the third date. But Holtzmann…” she shifted closer so she could whisper directly into Holtzmann’s ear, noting the shiver she felt travel through the woman’s frame as she breathed directly into her ear. _‘Her ears are sensitive.’_ She filed the information away for later use. “…I’m pretty sure we’ve been dating for a while.” Gently she ran a hand across Holtzmann’s stomach, using her body as leverage to pull herself closer and press a kiss on the pulse point directly underneath her ear.

She was a little surprised when Holtzmann let out an audible groan and gripped her arm. _‘Definitely sensitive,’_ Erin thought to herself triumphantly as she gauged her reaction, her grip almost hurting but not quite, instead making Erin shift in her seat as she got decidedly warmer. If they didn’t do something soon about the tension they had both been feeling since Holtzmann walked into the restaurant Erin thought she might explode.

Schrödinger, to his credit, leapt off the sofa and disappeared somewhere down the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hate me yet?  
> So I thought this was only going to be seven chapters and then I started working on it and I realized that it was getting to be REALLY LONG...and so I decided to make it eight. I really do think I have the number right this time, but who knows!
> 
> Thank y'all for being patient and (hopefully!) sticking with me this far! You're awesome!
> 
> (Also, the shirt Holtzmann gives Erin to wear exists. I found it on Amazon when I was looking for something witty for the shirt to say.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *points at rating change*  
> *shuffles away nervously*

“Erin,” Holtzmann murmured, pawing at her face until she released her skin with a faint pop, satisfied at the way her pale complexion was already bruising. Holtzmann twisted in her seat so she could press her lips to Erin's once again, taking her a little off guard. It was different from the kisses they had shared so far that night. This time they moved slowly, opening one another up so they could taste the lingering flavor of ice cream on one another's tongues. Erin was slightly embarrassed when she heard another groan and realized that this time she was the one making the sound. Holtzmann responded with a hum of her own before pulling back slightly to look at Erin.

“Is this okay?” she asked. Erin noticed how large her pupils had gotten and almost groaned again at the sight. Holtzmann wanted to kiss her, and maybe wanted to do more with her, and yet she was still willing to stop to ask her if something as simple as a kiss was alright. Erin sucked in a shuddering breath, realizing that none of her previous lovers (and there hadn’t been that many) had been so considerate of her feelings on the matter.

“It’s more than okay,” Erin breathed, licking her lips. She noticed Holtzmann watching her mouth and was pleased that she could have such an effect on her. Using the pad of her thumb she traced Holtzmann’s jawline before burying her hand in the hair at the nape of her neck and scratching slightly. Holtzmann’s eyes slipped closed and Erin thought that if she were a cat she would be purring.

With her hand buried in her hair like this Erin realized that she had never seen Holtzmann’s hair out of its customary messy style. She sat up on her knees so she had more mobility and carefully explored with her fingers until she found the small knot at the back of her head and paused, pulling back a little so she could look her in the eye for permission. After just a moment’s hesitation Holtzmann nodded, nervousness flickering across her face.

Erin gently began pulling pins from her hair. She was surprised by the sheer number that she had keeping her style in place, but several tugs later Erin had a handful of pins and Holtzmann’s shoulder length hair was loose. It was just as wild down as it was up and after setting the pins aside Erin used a handful of it as leverage to pull Holtzmann down for another kiss. She shifted slightly so she could straddle her lap and they both hummed at the increased contact.

“I like your hair,” Erin muttered against Holtzmann’s lips, prompting a chuckle from the engineer that was cut short when Erin daringly rolled her hips. As Holtzmann’s hands found their way underneath Erin’s shirt they stuttered a little, her movements becoming more confident as she ran them up Erin’s back, pulling away from the kiss to look her in the eye when she encountered nothing but smooth skin.

“Bold,” she whispered, waiting for a shaky nod from Erin before pulling the shirt over her head. She ran her hands over her bare skin, avoiding her breasts entirely, instead leaning down to press light kisses against her collarbone.

“The dress…” Erin said, trying and failing to keep her voice steady as Holtzmann made her way lower. “I don’t wear…” her words stopped abruptly when Holtzmann cupped her breast, running her tongue across her nipple. She groaned and couldn’t help rolling her hips against Holtzmann again. Holtzmann let her hands trail down Erin’s bare back to rest on her backside, pulling her closer so the next time she moved there was more friction. Her mouth remained on Erin’s breast and Erin was flustered by how much this relatively small amount of contact was affecting her. She felt the strong need for them to be even, so after a lot of concentration on her part her hands finally found the hem of Holzmann’s shirt, giving it a questioning tug.

Holtzmann pulled away and locked eyes with Erin as she raised her arms so the shirt could slip over her head. She was wearing a neon green sports bra underneath and Erin couldn’t help but chuckle despite how hot and bothered she was.

“That’s…green,” she snorted, feeling borderline delirious with so many sensations assaulting her at once. Holtzmann simply shrugged, looking down at her clothing choice nonchalantly.

“Why shouldn’t my boobs reflect my personality?” she asked, ridding herself of the undergarment without pause. Erin stopped laughing at the sight, swallowing nervously and licking her lips. She touched her gently, timidly running a thumb across her nipple, pleased with herself when it hardened at her touch. She liked the reaction and repeated the movement on her other breast. Holtzmann arched her back and hummed her approval, hands coming to rest on Erin’s hips.

With Holtzmann’s reaction Erin suddenly found herself unsure of what she was doing. She leaned in and pressed a small kiss against Holtzmann’s neck before hiding her face.

“Holtz?” she asked quietly, her face beginning to burn so hot she thought Holtzmann would be able to feel the heat she had to be radiating. She was still painfully turned on but she was also intimidated, the mixture of feelings making her insecure.

“Yeah E?” she responded, sensing the sudden change in Erin’s mood and wrapping her arms around her. The feeling of their bare skin pressed together didn’t help Erin’s mixed feelings.

“I’ve never done this before,” Erin felt the frustrated tears coming just in time to fight them back but she knew that Holtzmann probably felt how tense she was. “I’ve never slept with a woman. I’ve never _kissed_ a woman.”

When Holtzmann chuckled Erin knew she wasn’t making fun of her. She held her tighter instead. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” she whispered into Erin’s hair. “I want to do this with you, but I can wait.”

Erin slowly sat up and cupped Holtzmann’s face in her palms, kissing her hard again. “You’re so amazing,” she mumbled against her lips. “I want this, too. I just don’t know what I’m doing and I want to do it right.”

“I’ll help you,” Holtzmann said. “Don’t think so hard. You know what you like, right?” Erin shrugged and gave a noncommittal nod. “I bet I like something similar.” Before Erin could respond Holtzmann licked her face. Erin wrinkled her nose and swiped the back of her hand across her jaw. Holtzmann was grinning at her cheekily. “Take these off?” she asked, snapping the waistband of Erin’s pants and making her jump. Erin carefully stood up from her lap and shimmied out of the pants before kicking them aside. She felt so exposed standing there in front of Holtzmann in nothing but her underwear and it didn’t help when Holtzmann started laughing.

Erin crossed her arms protectively over her chest and looked at her feet, feeling self-conscious. Holtzmann caught on quickly and grasped her by the hips to pull her closer. “Aren’t these—“ she started, but cut herself off laughing again. Erin tried to squirm out of her grip, upset by the laughter, but Holtzmann held on tight so she couldn’t. She toyed with the lace sewn onto her waistband. “Isn’t this the pair Schrödinger brought me? The first day we met?”

Erin looked down at herself, surprised by the sudden turn of events and laughed, too. “So they are,” she said, feeling better now that she knew what Holtzmann was laughing about.

The light mood was broken when Holtzmann leaned forward and pressed an open mouthed kiss right above the waistband of Erin’s underwear, her hand trailing down to touch her gently through the fabric. Erin’s hips jerked and the low chuckle she got in response made her feel like she might die right there on the spot.

“Holtzmann,” she whispered breathlessly. Holtzmann looked up to meet her eye before pulling her hand away, earning a whimper from Erin.

“May I?” she asked, hooking her fingers in the waistband. Erin nodded, her mouth dry, and felt her knees go weak when Holtzmann rid her of the article of clothing in one smooth motion. She kicked it to the side with her pants and was a little relieved to see Holtzmann smiling up at her reassuringly as she ran her hands up and down the sides of her hips. “You’re beautiful,” she said with a smile and Erin laughed lightly.

“I’m underdressed,” she responded, drawing a delighted chuckle from Holtzmann before she lifted her hips so she could kick her own pants onto the floor.

“Better?” she asked with a large grin, her underwear a slightly different garish shade of green from her bra.

“Getting there,” Erin said as Holtzmann tugged her back down onto her lap. Every sensation was so much stronger now that there was no barrier between her skin and Holtzmann’s, but instead of touching her Holtzmann kissed her tenderly, exploring her mouth so thoroughly that Erin felt as though she were being memorized. She could sense that Holtzmann was holding back in an attempt to make her more comfortable. She kept her hands above Erin’s waist, gently scratching up and down her back with her short nails until Erin was covered in goosebumps. Once she sensed that Erin was relaxing she allowed her hands to wander, ghosting over her breasts before slowly trailing their way down her body. If she weren’t already melting from the way Holtzmann had been touching her she would have been nervous. Her hips jerked when Holtzmann’s hands brushed her lower belly, earning her a wolfish grin in return.

Holtzmann kissed her again, trailing her fingers between Erin’s legs. Erin yelped when she touched her and Holtzmann drew her hand back quickly. “Too much?”

“No,” Erin groaned, grinding against her in an attempt to release some of the tension she felt building. “Do that again.”

Holtzmann pressed her fingers against her again, smirking into her mouth. “Is that an ocean in your pocket?” she asked. “Or are you just happy to see me?”

“Shut up Holtzmann,” Erin responded lightly, her eyes squeezed shut. She wrapped her arms loosely around Holtzmann’s shoulders and rocked against her hand, gasping when Holtzmann slowly slipped one finger inside of her. She was a little embarrassed by how wet she was but realized that it couldn’t be all bad when the engineer let out a small moan of her own.

“Please,” Erin whispered into her ear.

“Please what?” Holtzmann murmured in response, but added a second finger, curling them in a way that made Erin release a strangled cry and snake her own hand down to grasp at Holtzmann’s wrist. She paused at the touch but when Erin gave her a breathless nod she carefully picked up the pace. The muscles in Erin’s legs shook and she flushed red hot when she realized that she could hear Holtzmann’s fingers moving. She felt her muscles clench and became aware that she was going to come embarrassingly fast and then she was gasping into Holtzmann’s shoulder, her steady rhythm broken as her hips stuttered. Holtzmann kissed the side of her head and whispered something to her that she didn’t really hear.

She breathed hard for a few minutes, coming down slowly. Holtzmann gently withdrew her fingers and rested her hand on her hip. Erin could feel her own wetness against her skin where Holtzmann’s hand rested and before she even realized what was happening she released a quiet sob.

“Oh shit, are you okay?” Holtzmann asked, sitting her up so she could see Erin’s face. Erin nodded, wiping quickly at the tears that were falling faster than she could stop them. She realized she was fighting a losing battle and leaned down so she could kiss Holtzmann instead. The tears made their kiss wet but neither found that they minded much.

“I’m very okay,” Erin replied, still feeling faint aftershocks. “Thank you Holtz.”

“Don’t think me,” Holtzmann said with a quiet laugh. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”

“Really?” Erin asked, pulling back so she could look Holtzmann in the eye. “How long?” Holtzmann shrugged.

“I’ve liked you since you practically flashed me on the sidewalk.” Erin smacked her arm but couldn’t stop the huge smile that spread across her face.

“I did not,” she responded, realizing that they had one of the best first meeting stories she had ever heard. She kissed Holtzmann again, allowing the kiss to deepen until she felt the smile disappear from Holtzmann’s face and heard her sigh. “I wanna make you feel as good as you make me feel,” she whispered against her mouth, drawing a quiet moan of agreement from Holtzmann, who pulled away a beat later, eyes wide.

“Are you sure?” she asked. She ran her hands up and down Erin’s bare arms lightly. “I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

Erin once again felt touched by how concerned Holtzmann was about her comfort despite the fact that she herself had not gotten much out of this encounter so far. Erin _was_ nervous. She had never done anything like this before. But Holtzmann had made her feel so cared for that she couldn’t think of anything but making her feel the same way.

“I’m sure,” Erin said, smiling apprehensively despite wanting to return the favor. “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I want to try.”

Holtzmann beamed and she patted Erin on the thigh. “Do you wanna move to my bedroom?” Erin nodded, her smile growing until it matched Holtzmann’s. She stood up from her lap and pulled her up by her hand before allowing herself to be led down the hallway. She hadn’t been in Holtzmann’s bedroom yet, and whatever she had pictured subconsciously was completely wrong.

Holtzmann reached around the corner and flipped the light switch, illuminating one of the most cluttered bedrooms Erin had ever seen. There was scrap metal everywhere and a small machine stood whirring in one corner farthest from the door. The whole room smelled faintly of smoke as though she frequently caused explosions that she tried to keep contained in the small space.

“I’m still working on that,” Holtzmann said, pointing at the machine and speaking conversationally as though she and Erin weren’t standing there naked. “It’s supposed to detect ghosts but so far all it’s done is detect Schrödinger.”

At the sound of his name the cat stood up from Holtzmann’s bed, which was surprisingly clear of junk, and stretched before scampering out the door. The little machine quieted immediately. Erin was delighted by the device and the way Holtzmann’s mind worked and she squeezed her hand, unable to wipe the stupid grin off her face.

“You are the strangest person I’ve ever met,” she said. She leaned in for another kiss but Holtzmann tilted her head away.

“Is that good?” she asked, uncertainty flickering across her face. Erin realized she hadn’t been clear and grasped Holtzmann’s face in both her hands, looking her in the eye.

“Of course it’s good,” she said sincerely. “I love it.” Relief broke out on Holtzmann’s face and she finally allowed Erin to lean in for a kiss. She pulled them backwards without breaking the kiss until the backs of her legs hit the bed and she flopped down heavily, dragging Erin down with her. Erin landed more awkwardly than she had anticipated, trying to catch her weight but managing to hit Holtzmann in the stomach instead, the engineer letting out a pained “oof.”

“You’re trying to kill me E,” Holtzmann groaned with a laugh, holding her stomach.

“Oh my God Holtz I’m so sorry,” Erin said, leaning down to kiss her stomach. Holtzmann’s laughter stopped abruptly and Erin looked up to see if she had done something wrong.

Holtzmann was propped up on her elbows so she could look down at Erin, her bottom lip caught in her teeth. Erin was startled by the sudden change, not having realized how much her actions were effecting Holtzmann. She leaned down to repeat the motion, leaving an open mouthed kiss just above the waistband of Holtzmann’s underwear, enjoying the way her breath caught. She toyed with the idea of going further but her nerves got the best of her so she moved up to safer territory, kissing her neck and then moving so she could see her face.

“I-I’m sorry Holtz—I—“ she stammered, not sure the best way to proceed.

Holtzmann shushed her gently, leaning up so she could kiss her again. “Do you want to stop?” she asked.

“No!” Erin said, shaking her head. “No, definitely not.” She thought she saw relief cross Holtzmann’s face and appreciated how patient she was being. “I just—help?”

Holtzmann grinned and nudged her in the side. “Move over,” she said quietly, getting up from the bed once Erin had rolled off of her. Erin watched mesmerized as she moved across the room to flick off the light, only tripping over some junk on the floor once as she made her way back to the bed. In the faint light coming from the window she saw her shimmy out of her underwear, letting it drop to the floor before feeling the bed dip as she joined her again. All the breath left Erin’s body as she felt Holtzmann drape herself across her as she reached for something on the far side of the bed.

“H-Holtz,” she stammered as the engineer fumbled for something on the floor, her weight resting entirely on Erin and her torso hanging halfway off the bed. After a moment there was a loud pop and a triumphant “Ha!” and suddenly the room was lit up again.

There were multicolored fairy lights strung up along the head of the bed, trailing their way to the nearby window where they were draped across the curtain rod. Holtzmann, now illuminated by the soft light, pulled herself back up onto the bed, laying down beside Erin and smiling at her as she shook out her slightly singed hand. “I made some modifications and they’re not entirely stable yet but we should be safe.” She moved to put her fingers in her mouth but Erin grabbed her hand, slipping them into her own mouth instead. The tension rose between them until Holtzmann pulled her hand away and leaned in so she could replace her fingers with her lips, kissing Erin languidly. Once she could sense that Erin was relaxing again she took her hand in her own, gently guiding it to rest on her breast.

With a shaky sigh Erin kneaded her breast, smiling against Holtzmann’s mouth when she moaned quietly. She carefully rolled on top of her, not wanting to hurt her again as she straddled her hips. She was fully aware that Holtzmann would be able to feel how wet she still was and tried to keep her hips from rocking at the thought. Remembering the reaction she got earlier on the sofa she leaned down and nibbled on Holtzmann’s ear, her smile growing when she drew a real moan from the engineer. She was reluctant to leave her neck but moved lower, taking her nipple into her mouth and rolling the other with her fingers, feeling Holtzmann arch slightly off the bed.

Emboldened by the positive responses she was getting, Erin allowed her hand to trail downward, scratching her nails up and down her inner thigh. She was both pleased and a little surprised when Holtzmann immediately opened her legs. She knew that she had to be more than ready so she dragged her fingers upwards, her fingers fumbling a little until she found her clit.

“You’re so wet,” she murmured, a little in awe as she looked up at Holtzmann, who had her head pressed back into the pillow and her eyes squeezed shut.

“I just watched you come in my lap E,” she whispered with a smile as her hips twitched. “It’s all your fault.” Erin couldn’t help but be pleased that she had caused this response, speeding up the movement of her fingers.

“What do you like?” Erin asked, noting the way Holtzmann’s hips sped up to match the pace of Erin’s fingers on her clit.

“You,” Holtzmann responded without missing a beat despite her heavy breathing. Erin was about to protest that that wasn’t what she meant when Holtzmann’s hand grasped her own, carefully moving her fingers downward until she got the message and slid two fingers inside her. Remembering what Holtzmann had done earlier she curled them, delighted when Holtzmann groaned.

“Come here,” she said, pulling at her until Erin moved awkwardly to straddle her leg, using her own thigh to add pressure against her hand. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but when Holtzmann kissed her again she forgot all about the minimal discomfort.

She began to move faster, taking her cues from the little sounds and movements Holtzmann made as she used the palm of her hand to keep pressure on her clit. Holtzmann’s free hand stuttered a little before finding a place to rest across Erin’s back, her other hand helping Erin keep a steady rhythm between her legs. 

Erin tugged on her hair to make her tilt her head so she could kiss her neck and ear again, the sensation seeming to send her over the edge as she tightened around Erin’s fingers with a gasp. Erin slowed down her movements, trying to draw out her orgasm and after a few long moments Holtzmann’s whole body relaxed and she tugged at Erin’s wrist to get her to stop. Erin’s fingers stilled and she waited a moment longer before pulling her hand away gently.

Holtzmann lay with her eyes closed, breathing heavily for a short time. Erin rolled so she could lay next to her, burying her face in her neck and stroking her jaw as she came down, feeling a little self conscious about what she had just done. Finally she felt Holtzmann move, taking her hand in her own and rolling so she could face her.

“Are you sure you’ve never done that before?” she asked, a mischievous look on her face. Erin shook her head.

“Never,” she replied, feeling timid again. “Was I okay?”

“Erin Gilbert you are a fast learner,” Holtzmann said with a breathless laugh. Erin stared at her with her mussed hair and a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and felt her heart skip a beat. She had never been with anyone who made her feel this content.

“Go on another date with me,” she blurted out impulsively. “Tomorrow? Or well, today?” she corrected herself after a glance at the homemade clock next to the bed. Holtzmann beamed.

“Why Dr. Gilbert I thought you’d never ask,” she replied, leaning in for another kiss.

Erin sighed and pulled back just enough to murmur, “You’re such a good kisser.”

Holtzmann smirked. “Give me a minute to catch my breath and I’ll show you what else this mouth can do.”

Erin swooned.

*****

The next morning Erin woke up with a mild sense of déjà vu. She was sleeping against something soft and was so comfortable that she really didn’t want to move. It took her a few minutes for last night’s activities to come back to her and when they did she stretched with a smile, the softness suddenly becoming clear. She had her arms wrapped around Holtzmann, who had her face pressed into the crook of her neck. She pulled her closer, relishing in the feeling of their bare skin pressed together, the warm huff of breath Holtzmann released against her shoulder giving her goosebumps. She closed her eyes again, fully intending to sleep a little longer, when she heard a ringing from somewhere on the floor. She buried her face in Holtzmann’s hair and tried to ignore it but the sound was persistent.

“You should answer your phone,” Holtzmann’s muffled voice came from somewhere under the pillow where she had hidden her head.

Her phone? Erin reluctantly rolled away from the warm body next to her and felt around on the floor, her hand coming into contact with her ringing phone a moment later. She couldn’t remember how that had gotten in the room but couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Hello?” she answered, her voice still raspy from having just woken up.

“Hey, it’s Justin.”

“Justin?” Erin didn’t recognize the name and was about to tell the caller that he had the wrong number when something clicked and her eyes went wide. _Married Justin. Order food and then make her pay for it Justin._

“Yeah. I just wanted to call and say that I’m divorcing my wife. I was wondering if you’d want to go out again? I know this great restaurant—“

“You can take your great restaurant and shove it up your ass,” Erin said, hanging the phone up and silencing it before dropping it back on the floor where it bounced somewhere underneath the bed. She rolled over and was met by a pile of blond curls and a Cheshire cat grin peeking out from underneath the blanket.

“Wow E, that’s a side of you I hadn’t seen yet,” Holtzmann said, pulling her head out from under the pillow and flopping back down on her stomach. Out of nowhere Schrödinger hopped up on the bed and curled up on her bare back, purring loudly. The ghost/Schrödinger detecting machine came to life in the corner and the sound of its whirring away was strangely comforting in the early morning silence.

“He deserved it,” Erin responded, wrapping both Holtzmann and Schrödinger up in her arms with only mild protesting from the cat and a contented sigh from Holtzmann.

After all, Erin Gilbert had never been great at going on dates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have never written anything that detailed before and I am SUPER nervous about this so I hope it's okay. *cringe* 
> 
> Also I know I hadn't given names to any of Erin's terrible dates so far so I hope the ending wasn't confusing? I literally just made up a name cause no one cares about the jerks she's gone out with. lol!
> 
> Once again, all mistakes are my own. I've been looking at this for so long my eyes are starting to blur. And another shout out to my amazing partner i-smell-lesbians. This is the first full length fic I've actually finished and I couldn't have done it without her!
> 
> I've loved sharing this story with you all and I hope you've enjoyed the ride. You've made this experience such a wonderful one for me with your kind words and your enthusiasm. I can't express enough how happy it's made me. I actually really like this little universe I've created so if you have any ideas for where I could take them next or any prompts, please let me know cause I'd love to hear your ideas! (I may have something more in mind already ;)) I'm ma-ghostly-petite on tumblr so keep in touch because I love you all!
> 
> Until next time. :)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing for this fandom so I hope you all enjoy the ride! I'm ma-ghostly-petite on Tumblr if you wanna come say hello!
> 
> The title is a quote by Colette.


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